On the March!

In some circles, I hear more talk about the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert plan to stage competing rallies in Washington, D.C., on October 30th, than I do about the One Nation Working Together (ONWT) march scheduled for 10-2-10. That’s a week from this coming Saturday, just a few days away. And just in case you haven’t heard, this is going to be a huge gathering of people rallying to support the basic agenda that launched Barak Obama to the White House. Find a way to get there: You don’t want to miss it (and then go back three weeks later for Jon and Stephen).

Here in Albany, a number of peace, labor, civil rights/human rights, and environmental groups are mobilizing. If you don’t already have plans to go, and need information about travel arrangements, go to the ONWT website.

The march was initiated by the NAACP, SEIU/1199, and the AFL-CIO. Look at the growing list of partnering organizations and you can see why this is going to be something special.

One way the march is growing is through the addition of new constituencies who are creating statements of unity and then going out and using them to attract more people. I have been working with a group from the labor and environmental justice movements to develop a set of principles that we felt needed to be the added to the ONWT agenda. As of today, that has been accomplished and the full statement should be added to the website soon.

As part of this platform, we are calling for a transition to an economy and a society that respects all living things and prioritizes harmony with nature, sustainable use of resources, and systems of production that do not negatively impact human health. We want governments to address the challenge of climate change in ways that are democratic, just, and effective. We urge leaders in the US and around the world — especially in the developed countries — to take responsibility for the global warming pollution they have created. And we want nations, corporations, and individuals to take steps to reduce emissions to the levels demanded by the scientific community. We believe that by moving rapidly to a low carbon emissions economy, we can drive the green economy and create more jobs at the same time.